LIVING IN FEAR
‘I’m 68 and I have to walk around with a gun in my pocket’
BABOO Soni built a thriving gold and diamond business with a Standard 6 education, and with start-up capital of R400, which he had borrowed.
While his business, Mayuri’s Jewellers, has enabled him and his family to live a comfortable life, his efforts have been set back by four robberies in two years, the loss of R19 million worth of jewels over the past year, and not always having the police on his side.
Soni, who has 68 staff members spread across three branches – the fourth is soon to open at The Pavilion mall – is reeling after his Chatsworth Centre store was robbed for the second time on Monday.
His head was slammed against a glass counter for refusing to give his attackers the keys to his safe – and he made as though he had lost consciousness, with only one thought racing though his mind, “When can I take out my gun and shoot them?” At the time, he said, “I had my finger on the trigger”.
The fact that he had thought of shooting at the robbers, he told POST, was an indictment on crime in South Africa. “I’m 68 and I have to walk around with a gun in my pocket,” he said. “What is life coming to?”
In business for about 40 years, Soni lost R7m during a robbery at his Phoenix branch earlier this year, and R12m during a robbery at his branch at Liberty Mall in Pietermaritzburg last year.
On Monday, he was at his main store at Chatsworth Centre when six armed robbers burst in just after 5pm, demanding the safe keys. “I saw a man dragging our security guard inside, followed by a group all brandishing guns. They were running around the store, screaming they want the safe keys. When I said that I did not have them, one of the men pushed me roughly on the chest and I fell on to the glass of the display shelf,” he said. “I realised then that I should not make any movement, so I pretended that I was unconscious, but watched with my eyes half-open as they waved their guns at my staff, demanding the keys.”
Soni said the ordeal lasted for between 10 and 15 minutes, until one of the store’s security alarms went off and the men fled, empty-handed. “Soon after they ran out the store, we heard gunshots… I just kept praying that they did not kill me or my staff.”
Another tenant at the centre, who requested anonymity, said members of his staff were in his restaurant when they saw the robbers run past and open fire. “They all ducked as one of the bullets hit the shop window and landed on the floor, just missing one of the staff members. Luckily, none of them were injured but it was a terrifying ordeal. Everyone will now be looking over their shoulders.”
Another business owner said she had just closed for the day and was leaving the centre when she had to take cover as the robbers rushed past. “They were looking straight at the exit but had their guns aimed behind them and were firing continuously. They did not even look back… all you could hear were gunshots ringing. Before they jumped into their car, a blue BMW waiting at the entrance, they fired at the roof. It was like a scene out of a movie”.
Chatsworth Centre has undergone a major revamp, with the changes including later closing hours.
Business owners fear that closing at 7pm has made them more vulnerable to criminals. They said there were not enough security guards, and that the car guards left shortly after 5pm.
“We are soft targets, especially having to stick to operating times, which are as late as 7pm,” said one.
“We put our lives at risk every day, but this (running a business) is our only way of survival.”
Chatsworth Centre Action Committee chairperson Devan Naicker said there was a need for armed guards with patrol vehicles to protect the centre. He said the centre generated millions of rand in profit for its owners every year, and that they should invest in adequate security, including the erection of boom gates.
“Armed robbers can enter and exit from any of the five entrances, and not one of the security guards is armed.
“What if the robbers had fired shots at innocent customers? Imagine the carnage that would have occurred,” said Naicker.
Soni said while the robbers had left empty-handed this time, he lost R7m worth of goods in the Phoenix Plaza robbery.
In that robbery all six suspects were caught, and two were shot by police while trying to escape. But when police returned the stolen loot two weeks later, he said, the value of it amounted to no more than R20 000.
After he hired a private investigator, who questioned the suspects, he was “terrorised” by a policeman.
“I don’t know what to do,” he said. “How do we win? I don’t know if the police are always on our side.”
Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said that a case of robbery was being investigated.
Rubecca Khan, the senior portfolio executive at Excellerate Real Estate Services, which manages the centre, said the safety of their patrons, tenants and staff are important to the managers and owners.
She said the centre had embarked on a few endeavours in conjunction with the tenants and security to ensure everyone remained safe at all times.
Khan described Monday evening’s robbery as being an “unfortunate incident that we want to avoid at all costs in future”.
Addressing the tenants’ grievances, she said the centre’s operational hours were not late, compared to other shopping centres and malls, and that during the current upgrade the external lighting was being enhanced.
“The security in the centre is not a concern as the guards acted within protocol for this particular incident and were efficient and effective as there were no injuries incurred during the armed robbery.
“The centre currently employs 17 guards with armed response during business hours.”
Khan added that the installation of boom gates had been investigated but, owing to traffic volumes, the Traffic Impact Assessment report did not support this.
“The owners, however, have commenced an initiative to install new CCTV facilities in and around the centre to assist the security controllers to monitor the centres even more effectively.”